International Initiative
Freedom for Ocalan Peace in Kurdistan
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11 February 2005
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE BRIEFINGS:
Kurdish Issue in Turkey Unresolved
Deutsche Welle / 11 February 2005
Following a trip to Turkey, an international delegation has deemed
the country unfit to join the EU. With regard to the Kurdish issue,
it concluded that the improvements were merely theoretical.
A report by the delegation of international lawyers claims that
the official representation of problems such as the Kurdish issue
are "largely euphemistic, if not totally false". The report,
to which DW-WORLD has access, said that while Turkey has made many
attempts towards becoming a democratic state, there is still a long
way to go in putting reformed laws into practice.
Turkish human rights activists stressed to the delegation that "there
has been no fundamental change in the mentality and thinking in
the Turkish government and state apparatus." They said the
Turkish government has to develop a far-reaching program for the
political, socio-economic and cultural equality for the Kurdish
people.
"And as long as they are not willing to do so, there can be
no recommendation that they join the EU," the report said.
They called for the establishment of a commission comprising NGOs
from both Turkey and EU nations to oversee reforms relating to human
rights in Turkey.
Continued suppression
The six-person delegation, comprising of high-ranking German and
South African lawyers, traveled to Istanbul and Ankara in the middle
of January where they conducted numerous conversations with human
rights activists, representatives of Turkey's ruling AKP party and
members of parliament.
The lawyers stated that neither the government, the military or
other political parties show a fundamental shift in thinking on
the Kurdish issue, and concluded that the official policy is still
a long way off recognising the Kurds as equals with the same rights
and freedoms.
Despite certain legal changes, the Kurdish language is still widely
repressed. There are no Kurdish radio or TV stations and the two
weekly half-hour programs on state television, which are repeatedly
cited as progress on the Kurdish issue, amount to nothing more than
propaganda which has been translated into Kurdish. "Nobody
watches them," one of the lawyers said. In addition, there
is still a law in effect which bans political parties from using
any language other than Turkish.
The lawyers have called on the EU to make the Kurdish issue a central
element of their negotiations. The influence of the EU in accession
talks is the most effective factor for a peaceful and politically
correct solution to the issue.
Öclan in solitary confinement
During their trip, the lawyers also sought to gain an impression
of the conditions in which former chairman of the Kurdistan Workers
Party, the PKK, Abdullah Öclan, is being held captive on the
island of Imrali. In a ruling in March 2003, the European Court
of Justice for Human Rights deemed the trial against Öclan
unfair. The Turkish government, however, launched an appeal, and
a decision on the issue is expected this spring.
In the eyes of the human rights activists, there has been no change
in Öclan's prison conditions. The lawyers are involved as international
observers in the Öclan appeal case and were dissatisfied with
the Turkish Justice Minister's refusal to accept a visit from the
delegation for "reasons of security".
They claim that Öclan is in solitary confinement, and that
his relatives and lawyers are prevented from visiting him. Isolation,
they said, is white torture and capable of breaking the personalities
and wills of political prisoners.
The report, which is due for publication later this month, says
that Öclan's case is a "indicator for the credibility
of the development of human rights in Turkey". It concluded
that Öclan's prison conditions have to become a central point
in EU accession talks.
Source: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1484632,00.html
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